ALWAYS REFORMING: A sinner saved by grace alone through faith alone because of Christ alone adhering to Scripture alone to bring about reform personally, for his family, church, and world to the glory of God alone.

Monday, May 08, 2006

What in the wide, wide world of sports is a-goin' on here?!

I've seen the following in various formats and have tweaked it just a bit. It's a list of excuses as to why a person has given up on sports, has quit attending sporting events.

Every time I went, they asked me for money.

The people I sat next to didn’t seem very friendly.

The seats were too hard and uncomfortable.

I went to many games but the coach never came to call on me.

The referees made decisions with which I could not agree.

Some games went into overtime and I was late getting home or to eat.

The band played some songs I’d never heard before and it wasn’t my style of music.

The games are always scheduled when I want to do other things.

I suspect that I was sitting next to some hypocrites. They came to see their friends and what others were wearing instead of watching the game.

I was taken to too many games by my parents when I was growing up.

I hate to wait in the traffic jam in the parking lot after the game.

Sometimes it's hard to get a good parking spot.

It's so hard to get good seats as some might take the seats I want.

I recently read a book on sports and now feel I know more than the coaches do.

It's just as good to watch sports on television.

I don't want to take my children to any games because I want them to be able to choose for themselves what sports/teams they like best.

Obviously, this has allegorical value to show some of the (dare I say "flimsy") excuses for giving up on the church, for not attending church services.

The truth of the matter is that we make time for what is important to us. The reason people don't come to church events (barring health issues) is that something else is/was more important to the individual at that point in time.

The occasional miss is certainly understandable, but the pattern of demoting worshipping the living God in the company of God's people is cause for great concern for one claiming to be a child of God.

If you see yourself as a Christian and yet find yourself habitually missing church, you may need to ask yourself why. Do you not see the benefit of the community of faith as an asset in your sanctification? Do you not see the value that God places on His people gathering together to worship Him? Do you not see the value in your being a help to others in their growth in grace? Do you not see the imperatives of all the "one another" passages of Scripture, which necessitate consistent interaction with God's people? Do you value something else more?

Is there a deeper issue, do you really not have a love for God or His people? Are these evidences of conversion absent?

You may need to ask yourself what in the wide, wide world of sports is a goin' on with your commitment to Christ that it does not manifest itself in a commitment to the church, His bride.

Speaking of cost. . . that would be my first and biggest "excuse" for not attending sporting events. (I can find plenty of other ways to spend money.) The last sporting event we paid hard earned money for was a high school football game almost two years ago.Back to my point on cost. . . could it be for some the "cost" of commitment and accountability that is required in the community of God is too high a "price" for people to pay?